Las Vegas Real Estate News & Market Trends

You’ll find our blog to be a wealth of information, covering everything from local market statistics and home values to community happenings. That’s because we care about the community and want to help you find your place in it. Please reach out if you have any questions at all. We’d love to talk with you!

Feb. 22, 2019

The First Step to Buying a House

Before you buy a home, you need to know what you can afford. Here’s the first step you need to take.


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I get a lot of questions about the home buying process. One of the biggest questions I receive is about how to get started, so I’m joined today by Brian Maier of Mortgage Box, who will be talking to us about the first step in buying a house.


That first step is to talk with a lender. Your lender will be able to walk you through the entire process of securing a mortgage. They don’t just tell you what you can afford—they help you find a price point you’re comfortable paying.

 


"Lenders can give borrowers the whole picture."

 

When Brian speaks with his clients, he looks at how a mortgage fits in with their long-term financial goals. 98% of buyers begin their home search online, but online calculators aren’t always accurate when finding out what you can afford, so getting pre-approved and knowing your price point is important.

 

There are so many variables in play when it comes to calculating a mortgage payment. Numbers can change depending on credit score, type of loan, taxes, etc. Online calculators simply don’t handle these factors, but lenders can give borrowers the whole picture.

 

If someone thinks they can afford a $300,000 home, then comes to us and finds out their monthly payment is outrageous, it can be difficult for them to backtrack. By speaking with a lender from the outset, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into.

 

I’d like to thank Brian for speaking with us today—if you’d like to contact him, call 702-432-5626 or email Info@MortgageBoxNV.com.

 

If you have any real estate-related questions or need further information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted in Real Estate Tips
Feb. 11, 2019

As Interest Rates Rise, Will Mortgage Rates Rise as Well?

Just because the Fed raises interest rates, it doesn’t mean mortgage rates will follow suit. In fact, over the past couple months, the opposite has happened.


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With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates last December, how is this affecting current mortgage rates in our real estate market?


Whenever the Fed raises interest rates, people tend to assume mortgage rates will spike, but according to Brian Maier, mortgage broker and owner of Mortgage Box, there is no direct correlation between the Fed raising interest rates and the long-term future of mortgage rates.


When the Fed raised interest rates last December, that was the federal funds rate—not the mortgage rate. The federal funds rate is the rate at which banks lend to each other—not the consumer. Additionally, the Fed was very transparent about their intention to raise interest rates leading up to December, so by that time, mortgage rates had already adjusted.

 


"When the Fed raised interest rates last December, that was the federal funds rate—not the mortgage rate."

 

Mortgage rates peaked around early November, but since then, they’ve actually decreased by about 0.5%, which is huge. They’ll eventually rise again; it’s all a matter of when. In the meantime, though, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the market, which is helpful for mortgage rates. People are pulling money out of their stocks and putting it into bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

 

This presents a great buying opportunity right now because we don’t know how long they’re going to stay this low. On top of that, the spring market is on the horizon and home sales are starting to pick back up.

 

If you have any more questions for Brian about how interest rates are impacting our market, you can give him a call at (702) 432-5626 or email him at info@mortgagebox.com.

 

As always, if you have any more questions about real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Jan. 15, 2019

The Latest Numbers for Las Vegas Real Estate

The new year is here and so are the latest numbers from the Las Vegas real estate market. Here’s what you need to know.


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The December numbers are in for the Las Vegas residential real estate market, so we wanted to share them with you today.

 

We ended the year with 8,500 homes on the market. That’s nearly double what we saw in December 2017.

 

December 2018 also saw about 3,000 homes come on the market, which is up from the 2,500 we saw in December 2017.

 

Another statistic we like to track is the properties that went under contract, or pending sales. These homes haven’t quite closed yet, but the buyer and seller have agreed on a price and signed a contract. There were 2,400 pending sales in December 2018, down from 2,900 in December 2017.

 


"If demand remains flat, homes are going to be harder to sell."

 

Additionally, there were 2,600 closed home sales in December. That’s also down from 3,200 in December 2017.

 

The percentage of homes closed in December was right at 31%. In December 2017, that figure was almost at 70% because of our limited inventory at the time.

 

The more homes we have on the market, the more choices buyers will have. If demand remains flat, that’s going to make it harder to sell. In order to maximize your equity, it’s something to keep a close eye on.

 

If you're thinking about buying a home, now really is a great time to get out there. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have and refer you to a great lender in the area.

 

If you’re thinking about selling a home, we’d be happy to give you a free, no-obligation comparative market analysis on your home.

 

If you have any other questions or need anything else from me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted in Market Updates
Nov. 16, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving from Ken Ravago

This Thanksgiving, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks to all of you who have made our business possible.


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The 2018 holiday season has officially begun! We hope you are as excited as we are.

 

We’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of you this Thanksgiving. We have met some truly wonderful people, and we’re proud to have helped so many reach their real estate goals over the years.

 


"Happy Thanksgiving!"

 

We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of your support. Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner with all of your family and friends—that’s what we plan to do!

 

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any real estate questions. We would be happy to help you.

Posted in Special Message
Oct. 31, 2018

An Update on Our New Costco, Plus a Market Update

Henderson’s fifth Costco location is almost ready to open! Today I’ll bring you an update on that progress, plus a market update for the Las Vegas area.


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Today I’m reporting from the Costco construction site here in Henderson. Opening November 8, 2018, this 148,000 square-foot development marks what will be the fifth Costco in Henderson, and I’m sure all the area members are excited about the prospect.

In addition to updating you on the progress of the wholesale club’s construction, I also wanted to fill you in on the real estate market activity we’ve been noticing.

 

In the Las Vegas market, we have around 7,900 homes for sale, which is up almost 29% from this same time last year, where we had around 5,200 homes on the market.

 

For properties going under contract, we’re at a low of 3,265; this is the fifth straight month of decline for pending listings. This appears to be a trend that is likely to continue.

 


"This is the fifth straight month of decline for pending listings, and it appears to be a trend that is likely to continue."

 

If you’re a buyer, this is a great time to take advantage of historically low interest rates. Also there are more choices for you, given the increase in inventory we’ve seen.

 

If you’re a seller, there’s still time to capitalize on our great market; we still have a healthy supply of homes compared to the national average.

 

For any questions you have or if you need help buying, selling, or investing in a home, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to help you out.


(Trivia answer: Costco’s top-selling item is Costco toilet paper. They sell 1 billion rolls per year—that’s enough to wrap around the earth 1,200 times over!)

Posted in Market Updates
Sept. 27, 2018

Las Vegas Living Isn’t Just Gaming and Hotel Casino’s

Whether you’re a current resident or a future one, Logandale is a hidden gem with something that everyone will love.


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Today I’m coming to you from Logandale, Nevada, which is about an hour north of Las Vegas.


One of my favorite parts about fall is being able to ride the Logandale trail system, which is 200 miles long and features something for everyone. There’s razor-riding, dirt bike trails, hiking trails, and trails for those who like to rough it in their Jeeps.


Today my ATV Club is out here on the trails, giving back to the community by cleaning up the trail system. We’re picking up debris, painting, and putting up signposts to make it very user-friendly for all those who come to visit.


If you’re not from the area and are looking to move here, this is just one of the hidden gems in the Las Vegas area that you can and should take advantage of.

 


"The Logan Dale trail system is 200 miles long and features something for everyone."

 

If you’re already a resident but you haven’t been out here, this is the gateway to the Valley of Fire, so I highly recommend you check it out.

As a final note, a word about the fall market:

Right now, the median price for single-family homes is at a post-recession high of $295,000. Similarly, the median price for condos is at a post-recession high of $170,000. If you’re a seller, now is the time to take advantage of the market. If you’re a buyer, one thing to note is that we’re at two months’ supply of inventory. We haven’t had that much since 2016.

If you have any questions about real estate or if you’d like to check out the Logandale area, please reach out to me. We’d love to have you out here.

Posted in News
Sept. 4, 2018

You Can Make a Difference in the Lives of Local Children

Many of our community’s homeless and at-risk children often can’t be sure where their next meal will come from. Thankfully, the Serving Our Kids Foundation is working to change that.


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Today I’m excited to give you a behind-the-scenes look at a great local charity: the Serving Our Kids Foundation. This 100% grass-roots organization is entirely volunteer-run, and helps to feed local elementary school-aged children who are at-risk or homeless.

 

To help you better understand how this foundation runs, I met for a quick discussion with my fellow volunteer, Dale Darkas. Dale explains that the Serving Our Kids Foundation raises most of its supplies and donations through their Saturday food drives at Sam’s Club, which tend to collect anywhere between $3,500- and $8,000-worth of food—but the organization also receives donations from other sources as well.

 


"It only takes a couple hours each week to make a massive difference in the lives of local children."

 

To give you a couple of examples, one local massage therapist incentivizes her clients to donate by offering discounted services to those who do, and a local Eagle Scout recently donated over 10,000 bottles of water. It just goes to show how many people in the community are pitching in to help make a difference.

 

Through efforts like these, the foundation is able to serve over 3,000 children across 60 schools every single week.

 

If you’re interested in getting involved, please visit www.servingourkids.org for more information about what the foundation does and how you can become a part of it. It only takes a couple of hours each week to make a massive difference in the lives of local children.

 

As always, if you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted in News
July 11, 2018

How Accurate Is the Zillow Zestimate?

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People ask me all the time, “How accurate is a Zillow Zestimate?” Well, the answer can be found on Zillow’s own website where it talks about the Zestimate being a proprietary model. It is a computer module that determines values using public-submitted data and user-submitted data to come up with a range.

 

In other words, it is simply a starting point. After you look at a home’s Zestimate, if you really want to know its true value, Zillow recommends getting a professional appraisal. They can give you their opinion of the price once they have seen the home.

 


"If you are trusting your Zestimate as a statement of fact, you could be leaving a ton of money on the table."

 

On one of my latest listings, the home seller initially thought the home was worth a certain amount because of its Zestimate. After my team and I did our analysis on the property, we came up with a suggested price that was 10% to 15% higher than the Zestimate.

 

You could be leaving a ton of money on the table by trusting your Zestimate. If you are considering buying or selling a home, use that Zestimate as a starting point, and then call an agent like myself to find the true value of the property.

 

If you have any questions for me in the meantime, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted in Real Estate Tips
May 11, 2018

Sellers: It's Time to Take Advantage of the Market

Buying in the Las Vegas area? Click here to get a Full Home Search
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People always ask me, “Is it a buyer’s or a seller’s market?”

 

Well, for the time being, it is definitely a seller’s market. Why is this the case? It is simple supply and demand.

 

Builders are racing to create enough inventory to support buyer demand, which is putting a lot of pressure on the residential market. And multiple offer situations have become increasingly common.

 

Just last week my team and I put two properties on the market that received multiple offers just hours after being listed. We even received a few cash offers.

 

Beyond the increased likelihood of multiple offer situations, our current low supply is also causing double-digit increases in real estate values.

 


"If your home is priced right and is in good condition, it is likely that your listing could attract a bidding war."

 

A normal market here in Las Vegas would have between four to five months’ worth of inventory, meaning today’s one to two months of supply is critically low.

 

Another significant factor driving today’s market is rising interest rates. Many buyers who previously had no plans to make a move have changed their minds and are now speaking to lenders. If you’re a buyer, this is an important step, as it will give you insight into how much you can qualify for before beginning your search.

 

With all of these conditions in mind, sellers should be aware of their currently advantageous position in the market. Today’s sellers are in the driver’s seat. If your home is priced right and is in good condition, it is likely that your listing could attract a bidding war. Now is truly a great time to list.

 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted in Market Updates
April 6, 2018

Family Ties Run Deep on Las Vegas Property

Take a bite out of crime on Las Vegas property. At the Mob Museum folks can embrace a bit of wickedness while learning all about the region’s most infamous bad boys. While crime doesn’t pay these gangsters got their money's worth while the getting was good. Exhibits are definitely eye opening.

Learn the colorful history of those gracing the “wall of infamy” in 100 Years of Made Men. In this space crimes range from bootlegging to murder. The misdeeds committed by the men and women making up the wallpaper span over a century. Learn the shameful details of their colorful past and let them serve as an example.

It’s All in the Family on Las Vegas Real Estate

Get a glimpse into life on Las Vegas property streets when mob boys were all around. The third floor of the museum is dedicated to the rise of notorious gangs and the lure of life in the “family”. From the Birth of the Mob to the Feds Fight Back the history is laid bare. Mesmerizing places to dwell on this floor are the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall and the nearby Follow the Money display.

After uncovering the secrets of the mob, it may be best to go Underground. Those hiding out in the basement will feel as if they have plummeted back into controversy. A vivid timeline complete with authentic pieces of memorabilia illustrate days of prohibition. Nearby in the Speakeasy a lively picture is painted of the 1920’s jazz era and the mob’s influence there.

Special events are always marked on the calendar and feature intriguing subjects. Crime solving enthusiasts dig into  crime lab experiences. Law enforcement personnel are often acknowledged with discounts during select times. Lectures and presentations feature significant subjects to the Las Vegas real estate region and include community forums. Many guests add a spark of excitement to their visit with museum scavenger hunts and other interactive games. Learn more about the possibilities here.

The Mob Museum in Downtown Las Vegas is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Located at 300 Stewart Avenue. Come get to know the family.

 

Posted in News